


Down for the Count

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-02-25
Updated: 2004-02-25
Packaged: 2019-05-15 19:51:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14796851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: I know we all wanted to have this delightful couple go shopping after seeing the bedroom decor in Josh's apartment. Here's some fun Josh/Donna fluff.





	Down for the Count

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Down For The Count**

**by: Evelyn**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna  
**Pairing:** Josh/Donna  
**Category(s):** Romance  
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** Everything belongs to Aaron Sorkin and John Wells. Prices for items mentioned in this story may vary.  
**Summary:** I know we all wanted to have this delightful couple go shopping after seeing the bedroom decor in Josh's apartment. Here's some fun Josh/Donna fluff.  
**Spoiler:** Thorugh _Slow News Day_  
**Author's Note:** Many thanks to Shelley for her support, enthusiasm, and incredible beta skills. Thanks too for suggesting where Josh found his comforter. She was exactly right! 

“I can’t believe that you dragged me here,” Josh grumbled as he pushed the blue plastic shopping cart through the crowded aisles. Donna was ahead of him, her hand lightly pulling the cart along, weaving through the throngs of shoppers.

“Tell me again what the hell we’re doing in Arlington, Virginia at four o’ clock on a Saturday afternoon? The Stanford-Arizona game was going into overtime,” the DCOS whined.

“This is the closest Bed, Bath and Beyond. They have it on sale for $59.99, but with my 20 percent off coupon, it’s a steal at, say it with me,” she looked expectantly at Josh.

“Um, that would be $48 and change,” Josh admitted reluctantly. Donna snorted and continued her trek through the monster store.

“I was perfectly prepared to go halvsies with Carol. You were the one who insisted that we go in together for CJ’s birthday gift…” Donna made a sharp right turn and jerked the front edge of the shopping cart to get Josh to follow. Stumbling, he momentarily bounced the wheels off the edge of the shelving, the cart doing an unintended wheelie, but he managed to right it without tipping it over.

“If I’d known that it meant venturing into the land of SUVs and Republicans, then I’d have…” Josh muttered.

“Sent me to buy it and sign your name?” Donna stopped and turned to face her curly-haired companion.

“Um, yes?” he agreed, but the arch of one blonde eyebrow made him rethink his answer. “But that would be wrong,” he intoned in a deep voice.

“Right,” she smiled and started the trek once more. Two more turns and one long aisle, Donna squealed, “There they are.” 

“Get a grip, Donna.” 

“Good, it’s still here. There was only one left, so I put it on that top shelf, you know, so maybe nobody would notice until we got back,” she explained matter-of-factly. “Now if you could just get it down?”

Josh stood on his tiptoes, but was unable to grab the white box that had been pushed to the back of the top shelf. “How the hell did you get it up there?”

“There was a inventory ladder here,” Donna said, looking around. “Give me a sec.” 

The blonde assistant wandered out of sight, while Josh considered the sturdiness of the steel shelving. Before he could attempt his Spiderman impersonation, Donna came back to the aisle, pushing a rolling stepladder.

“I’ll get it,” she said, as she scrambled up the steps and reached for the cardboard box. Josh held the ladder steady, looked up, and grinned.

“You checking out the goods?” Donna said, as she caught Josh’s eyes fixed on her ass. Her conservative, navy blue wool pants fit her form perfectly. Topped by the pink turtleneck sweater with tiny pearl buttons at the wrists, Josh couldn’t figure out how a woman could be that covered up and yet be so sexy.

With a smile, Donna handed him down the carton and then climbed down, landing on the floor with a small bounce that made her breasts jiggle slightly.

“Who me?” He pasted an innocent look on his face, but couldn’t contain the grin that quickly reappeared.

“It’s perfect,” Donna exclaimed happily. “The Cuisinart seven-speed blender, the choice of professional bartenders,” she said, reading the copy off the box. “She’s gonna love it. You’ve got the liqueurs? The Crème de Cacao and the Crème de Menthe?”

“Yep. Picked them up this morning. Is that what’s in the stupid drink that she likes?”

“Yes, Josh,” Donna said patiently. “Grasshoppers have both liqueurs, plus whipping cream, blended together and poured over crushed ice.” 

“Ugh.” Josh made a face. “Sounds disgusting.”

Donna laughed. “Well it’s no whiskey sour, I’ll grant you. I don’t think you can put maraschino cherries in a grasshopper,” she mused.

“Manly men drink…” 

“Yoo-hoos?” Donna finished. She put the blender in the cart and started toward the back of the store.

“Donna, the checkout is back that way.” Josh tugged on the cart, trying to turn it around. 

“Just another sec,” Donna chirruped. “I want to see if they got any more in.” 

“We’re getting something else for CJ?” 

“No. It’s just that they had…” Donna stopped in front of a bin filled with packaged sheets. She pawed through the lot. “Damn.”

“What? What?” 

“They don’t have any doubles. They bought a close-out of Egyptian cotton sheets and I keep hoping that maybe they’d have restocked and gotten some in my size.” Donna sighed.

“You need sheets? I mean look around, they’ve got hundreds of them.” Josh gestured at the rows of stocked shelves. He wandered over to a pile of linens, haphazardly stacked on an end display.

“I’ve got this kind,” he pointed to a package of shiny, Sateen sheets. “Black,” he announced proudly. “Goes with anything.”

“Like that comforter you stole from Motel Six,” Donna muttered under her breath.

“What’s wrong with my comforter?” Josh demanded. 

Donna cheeks reddened. “Sorry. It’s just…just that the comforter doesn’t seem like your taste.” 

“Well I had to buy something. Remember, the dry cleaners lost my old one.” 

Donna nodded. “Sure. It’s just that the circles, and squares, and stripes all mixed together sort of leaves me, you know, nauseous.” 

“Oh,” Josh said. “And the black sheets?”

“Are kind of perfect for a coven of witches,” she said with a grin. Then added in a slightly lower voice, “which was appropriate under the circumstances.” 

Josh cocked an eyebrow at her, then grinned back. 

Donna held out to him a sample of the expensive brand. “These aren’t just any sheets, Josh. These are like the Rolls Royce of sheets. Jackie Kennedy used to sleep on this kind. Look at the colors, azure blue, seafoam green, plush plum, silvery gray, even a coral orange which is muted and classy. They’re soft, yet crisp. Cool, yet warm. Sheets are like a welcome mat for your bed. With the right sheets, I want to stay in bed all day.”

He waggled his eyebrows, then checked the price tag. “Do they like come with their own herd of sheep to count or what?” Josh gasped.

“I know they’re expensive, but these are for more than sleeping,” Donna insisted.

“Like what?” Josh smirked. 

“Get your mind out of the gutter. These are an aesthetic experience.”

“I like the gutter.” Josh grinned. He stared so intently that Donna blushed. Suddenly, he had a clear vision of this woman, waking up in a pool of azure blue sheets, which matched perfectly the color of her eyes, her bare alabaster white shoulders peeking out from under the cool cotton, her blonde hair strewn across the silken pillow case, next to his.

“Josh, these have a 500-thread count.”

He snapped back to reality and realized that she was talking to him.

“Do you know what that would feel like when you sleep,” she explained.

“For that amount of money, I’d rather talk about what they’re like when you’ re awake and…” 

She smiled, then batted his arm. . 

He got an unexpected jolt when she touched him. 

“Static electricity,” she said shyly. 

“Not a chance,” he answered firmly. 

They locked eyes, ignoring the other shoppers who were moving in and around them. 

“We’d better…we’d better get going. We’re supposed to meet CJ…and…and Toby,” she fumbled for words as the intensity of his gaze disrupted her concentration.

“Or we could buy some sheets,” he said softly. 

“They don’t have the size for my bed,” she answered quietly.

“Do they have any queen-sized sheets in that incredible blue?” He pointed to the color that mirrored the eyes that pierced his soul.

Donna pawed through the pile, found a complete set, and handed them to him. He added them to the cart.

“And a comforter, what kind of comforter would be right, Donnatella?” 

She hesitated, then walked over to the wall filled with bedding. She carefully scanned the samples, then seized a soft cotton comforter, dark blue with pencil thin maroon and beige lines and piped in forest green. With a hint of a smile, she placed it in the cart, then looked up into the warm brown eyes of her shopping companion.

“I think that’s everything,” she murmured. 

“Me too.” he whispered. 

“Checkout, Joshua?” 

“Home, Donnatella, home.” 

The End 


End file.
